1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to hardware for mounting toilet bowls, and, more particularly, closet bolts.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The typical manner of mounting a toilet bowl rigidly to a floor and in communication with a soil pipe relies on the use of xe2x80x9cITxe2x80x9d shaped closet bolts, such as that shown in FIG. 1. Specifically, FIG. 1 depicts a standard closet bolt 1 having a planar flange 2, and a solid threaded shaft 3 extending from the flange 2.
To mount a toilet bowl to a particular installation, a soil flange, having arcuate slots formed therein, is first disposed about the soil pipe. A closet bolt (usually two are utilized) is inserted through each of the arcuate slots with the flange leading and disposed to have the threaded shaft extending upwardly through the arcuate slot. In this position, the closet bolts are each freely rotatable, with the shaft able to twist within the arcuate slot and the flange being unobstructed to rotate therewith. A sealing ring is then disposed about the mouth of the soil pipe, and a toilet bowl is placed atop the prepared assembly. Pre-fabricated holes are formed in the base of the toilet bowl through which the closet bolts pass. To secure the toilet bowl in place, nuts are threadedly mounted onto the closet bolts and forced into tight bearing engagement against the base of the toilet bowl causing the flanges of the closet bolts to be urged into bearing engagement with the underside of the soil flange. It is to be understood that the above-described method of installing a toilet bowl has been limited for this discussion, and many other steps are required, including, but not limited to, preparing a bed of plaster or grout below the toilet bowl base to ensure a level mounting surface, assembling a water tank, and mounting the water tank.
Two problems are commonly associated with the use of typical prior art closet bolts. First, the portion of the threaded shaft of each of the closet bolts which protrudes from the nut in a locked position is commonly cut off using a metal hack saw or an electrically-powered reciprocating saw to make the end of the threaded shaft flush with the top of the nut. The removal of the protruding portions of closet bolts not only presents a more aesthetically-pleasing appearance, but also reduces the chances of a shower curtain or a person""s clothing getting caught on the closet bolt and being damaged. Since the threaded shaft of the prior art closet bolt is made solid, the shortening of the closet bolt is a difficult task, which is made more difficult due to the proximity of the toilet bowl body to the cutting location, and the small confines of a typical bathroom. To address this problem, closet bolts have been formed in the prior art with scorelines to allow for predetermined lengths of the closet bolt to be broken off without sawing, as in U.S. Pat. No. 3,339,215 which issued on Sep. 5, 1967 to Flood, entitled xe2x80x9cSELF-RETAINING CLOSET BOLTxe2x80x9d, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,530,269, which issued on Jul. 23, 1985 to Sakow, entitled xe2x80x9cTOILET BOWL MOUNTING BOLT ASSEMBLYxe2x80x9d. Alternatively, the prior art includes a variable length closet bolt, which is caused to be fully seated within an assembly rather than be cut, as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,036 which issued on Jun. 6, 1995 to Stevens et al., entitled xe2x80x9cWATER CLOSET INSTALLATION SYSTEMxe2x80x9d. Both of these solutions are deficient. Specifically, with respect to the former solution, the closet bolt is broken at one of the pre-defined scorelines, which may not necessary result in the end of the shaft being flush with the top of the nut. With respect to the latter solution, the closet bolt is formed from two different components, where care must be exercised at a work site to not lose one of the components.
A second problem associated with prior art closet bolts is the inability thereof to non-rotatably engage the soil flange. During installation, an installer is able to prevent rotation of a closet bolt by gripping the protruding end of the threaded shaft with a pair of pliers, or other tool, to hold the closet bolt in a fixed position and allow the nut to be tightened. However, to achieve the removal of an installed toilet bowl or an installed closet bolt, the installed nut must be removed, which may be troublesome. In particular, as described above, since the threaded shaft of the closet bolt is typically made flush with the top surface of the nut, there is no protruding portion of the closet bolt to grip. Thus, upon rotating the nut, the entire nut and closet bolt assembly rotates. Often, a person will press a screw driver or other tool against the exposed cut surface of the threaded shaft to apply pressure thereto in an attempt to prevent rotation of the closet bolt, and then attempt to loosen the nut. Unfortunately, the screw driver, or other tool pressed against the closet bolt, frequently slips and damages the toilet bowl during the nut removal procedure. Moreover, the removal of the nut is made more difficult due to corrosion which sets in over time. In cases where removal of the nut is extremely difficult, the nut and/or closet bolt are destroyed by sawing or drilling. As a solution to this problem, non-rotating closet bolts are provided in the prior art, such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,063, which issued on Jul. 25, 1989 to Abbate, entitled xe2x80x9cWATER CLOSET FASTENERxe2x80x9d, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,851, which issued on Jun. 29, 1993 to Dickerson, entitled xe2x80x9cCLOSET BOLT ASSEMBLYxe2x80x9d. Both of these solutions, however, require closet bolts formed from several components.
It is an object of the subject invention to provide a closet bolt which facilitates shortening thereof.
It is also an object to the subject invention to provide a closet bolt adapted to prevent rotation thereof.
The above-stated objects are met by a closet bolt having a generally xe2x80x9cITxe2x80x9d shaped body with a planar flange at one end, a threaded shaft extending from the flange to define a free end, and a hollow passage formed in the threaded shaft extending from the free end towards the flange. Preferably, the hollow passage defines a non-circular cross-section, and, more preferably, the hollow passage defines a hexagonal cross-section into which a hex wrench can be inserted.
In use, the closet bolt of the subject invention can be utilized in the customary manner to mount a toilet bowl. Additionally, the closet bolt is easier to cut to length than prior art closet bolts due to the reduction of cross-sectional material needed to define the hollow passage. Also, a tool, which is similarly shaped to the cross-section of the hollow passage, can be inserted into the hollow passage to prevent rotation thereof. Preferably, the hollow passage extends sufficiently through the threaded shaft so that, even where the closet bolt is cut to be made flush with a nut tightened thereabout, the hollow passage is still defined in the threaded shaft. Consequently, the closet bolt of the subject invention can be used to mount a toilet bowl in the customary manner, be cut easier and quicker than prior art closet bolts, and have rotation thereof prevented to allow for easy removal of an installed nut.
These and other features of the invention will be better understood through a study of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.